Gerber's history & heritage

Highlights

Gerber and Nestlé both have long histories of supporting the health of infants and toddlers.

The Gerber Nutrition Journey is a commitment to early childhood nutrition, health and wellness.

Find out about the Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS).

Nestlé and Gerber both have long, rich histories of supporting the nutrition, healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers.

In 1867, Henri Nestlé, a pharmacist, was asked to look in on a neighbor’s child who couldn’t breastfeed. The baby thrived on the special mixture Henri created. Soon, Nestlé’s innovation—the world’s first infant food—was being sold throughout Europe, and the first infant food company, Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, was launched.

Gerber Products Company also began with attention to one baby. Following the advice of her pediatrician in the summer of 1927, Dorothy Gerber started straining solid foods for her 7-month-old daughter Sally. After repeating this process many times, Mrs. Gerber suggested her husband try it. She watched Dan make several attempts, and then he pointed out that the work of straining fruits and vegetables could be easily done at their canning business, based in Fremont, Michigan. Workers in the plant began requesting samples for their own babies, and the legacy of GERBER® baby foods began.

Gerber heritage: Committed to healthy babies from the beginning

This timeline shows our innovation in nutrition, safety, quality, and health, and illustrates our commitment to providing the best products for your child:

1927

One evening, Dorothy Gerber was straining peas for her 7-month-old daughter, Sally. This was an arduous daily task with a strainer. This led to developing the process at the family canning company. This inspiration led to the creation of Gerber Baby Foods in 1928.

Gerber holds a contest to
find a baby picture to use in its ads. One of the submissions was a sketch by
artist Dorothy Hope Smith. Ann Turner, the adorable baby in the sketch, would
become known as “the Gerber baby.”

1939

Gerber introduces its first
baby cereal.

1951

Gerber becomes the first baby food company to advertise on television.

1963

Gerber introduces the
safety button cap—innovative tamper-evident packaging, & is one of the first
companies to use the “Better if used before” date on their products.

Gerber releases findings of its groundbreaking Feeding Infants & Toddlers Study, evaluating eating patterns & nutrient intakes of over 3,200
infants & toddlers. It unveiled many surprising statistics, like French fries being the most consumed vegetable by toddlers. Gerber used the findings to develop new &
improved products.

2007

Nestlé acquires Gerber, bringing together two of the world’s leading experts in early childhood nutrition to focus their leadership on one of America’s major challenges: filling the nutrition gaps & improving the eating habits of infants & young children.

Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS)

Nestlé and Gerber have committed to improving baby and child nutrition through innovation backed by solid research. One of the most notable research efforts was the Gerber-sponsored Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) conducted in 2002. This dietary survey of approximately 3,200 infants and toddlers 4 to 24 months old—the first undertaking of its size—significantly increased knowledge and understanding about how young children were really eating.

The results of the FITS study brought to light some key issues—notably that many toddlers failed to get adequate amounts of several important nutrients, including Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, and dietary fiber. In addition, it revealed that many toddlers weren’t eating even a single fruit or vegetable serving on a given day.

Nestlé conducted a follow-up FITS study in 2008 of 3,378 children, expanding the age range for infants and toddlers from birth to 48 months. Compared with 2002, the 2008 study showed that infants are being breastfed longer, and fewer children are consuming sweets and sweetened beverages. However, there’s still room for improvement in the diets of many toddlers and preschoolers. Many of their diets contain too much saturated fat and sodium, and they need more fruit, vegetables, and healthy fats.

Gerber Nutrition Journey origins

As a result of the 2002 FITS study, Gerber developed a program to help children start and stay healthy. When Gerber joined the Nestlé family in 2007, the Gerber Nutrition Journey was created to take advantage of the combined research, knowledge and expertise of both companies. The system is an innovative approach that helps you choose the right nutrition for your child based on her stage of development. Only Gerber offers this unique stage-based system with specific products, feeding and nutrition guidance, tools and services to support healthy growth and development and encourage the development of healthy eating habits for children from birth to 4 years.